As a Geographer specializing in the interactions between the environment and human development, my teaching includes courses such as Human Geography, Global Issues in Environmental Geography, Geography of Hunger and Food Security, Senior Seminar in Geography, and Theories of Development. In the broadest terms, my research is concerned with understanding intersections of livelihood and resource management, primarily through the lens of nature-society and development geography. More specifically, my East Africa-focused research has examined livelihood diversification, household and community strategies for coping with drought, and the implications for social development in pastoral and agro-pastoral communities. As PI of the NSF-funded Local Knowledge and Climate Change Adaptation Project (LKCCAP), my current research examines geographical inequality and interdependence in adaptive capacity to climate change along four altitudinal gradients in northern Tanzania. An overarching concern of the work described above is to better understand the political and ethical dilemmas - as well as possibilities - that confront researchers who employ participatory methodologies. I have also conducted research on environmental identity and domestic water use in the United States, examining the cultural politics of xeriscaping in Florida. My research has appeared in Human Ecology, Field Methods, Disasters, Environment and Planning D, and the Journal of Alpine Research and has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Fulbright IIE, and the Environmental Protection Agency.